JapaneseFOR

DUMmIES‰

2ND EDITION

by Eriko Sato, PhD

JapaneseFOR

DUMmIES‰

2ND EDITION

Japanese For Dummies®, 2nd EditionPublished by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com

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About the AuthorEriko Sato, PhD, is Director of the Teacher Certification Program for Japanese and the Pre-College Japanese Language Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where she has been teaching Japanese language, linguistics, and pedagogy since 1995. She authored the previous edition of Japanese For Dummies (Wiley), as well as Contemporary Japanese: A Textbook for College Students (Tuttle) and Japanese Demystified (McGraw Hill). She also coauthored My First Japanese Kanji Book (Tuttle), Essential Japanese Grammar (Tuttle), and Basic Japanese (Tuttle).

Author’s AcknowledgmentsI want to thank all the wonderful editors at Wiley. My heartfelt thanks go to the project editor, Jennifer Tebbe, and the copy editor, Megan Knoll, for their amazing editing skills, professionalism, and kindness. I enjoyed working with them throughout the project. Additionally, I am indebted to the two technical reviewers, Hiroko Chiba and Allen Kidd, who offered numerous valuable suggestions from a variety of viewpoints. Special thanks to Constance Carlisle for creating the audio recordings for this book, and to Wiley’s executive editor, Lindsay Lefevere, and my agent, Grace Freedson, for helping me get engaged in the Japanese For Dummies projects. I also want to thank my students at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and in its Pre-College Japanese Language Program for giving me the most valuable input, inspiration, and insight. Finally, I wish to thank my husband, Yimei, our daughter, Anna, and my family in Japan for their support and love.

Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

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Contents at a GlanceIntroduction .............................................................. 21

Part I: Getting Started ................................................. 7Chapter 1: Japanese in a Nutshell .................................................................................... 9Chapter 2: Checking Out the Japanese Sounds and Scripts ....................................... 17Chapter 3: Warming Up with Japanese Grammar Basics ........................................... 33Chapter 4: Starting with Simple Expressions ............................................................... 61Chapter 5: Getting Your Numbers, Times, and Measurements Straight .................. 77Chapter 6: Speaking Japanese at Home ........................................................................ 99

Part II: Japanese in Action ....................................... 117Chapter 7: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk ................................................. 119Chapter 8: Asking for Directions .................................................................................. 131Chapter 9: Dining Out and Going to the Market......................................................... 147Chapter 10: Shopping Made Easy ................................................................................ 163Chapter 11: Going Out on the Town ............................................................................ 183Chapter 12: Taking Care of Business and Telecommunications.............................. 199Chapter 13: Recreation and the Great Outdoors ....................................................... 219

Part III: Japanese on the Go ..................................... 233Chapter 14: Planning a Trip .......................................................................................... 235Chapter 15: Dealing with Money in a Foreign Land ................................................... 245Chapter 16: Making Your Way Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and More ............... 257Chapter 17: Finding a Place to Stay ............................................................................. 275Chapter 18: Handling Emergencies .............................................................................. 291

Part IV: The Part of Tens .......................................... 309Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Pick Up Japanese Quickly ................................................. 311Chapter 20: Ten Things Never to Say in Japanese..................................................... 315Chapter 21: Ten Favorite Japanese Expressions ....................................................... 319Chapter 22: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Japanese ...................... 323

Part V: Appendixes .................................................. 327Appendix A: Mini-Dictionary ........................................................................................ 329Appendix B: Verb Tables .............................................................................................. 349Appendix C: On the CD.................................................................................................. 359Appendix D: Answer Key .............................................................................................. 363

Index ...................................................................... 365

v

Table of ContentsIntroduction ................................................................. 1

About This Book .............................................................................................. 1Conventions Used in This Book ..................................................................... 2What You’re Not to Read ................................................................................ 4Foolish Assumptions ....................................................................................... 4How This Book Is Organized .......................................................................... 4

Part I: Getting Started ............................................................................ 4Part II: Japanese in Action .................................................................... 5Part III: Japanese on the Go .................................................................. 5Part IV: The Part of Tens ....................................................................... 5Part V: Appendixes ................................................................................ 5

Icons Used in This Book ................................................................................. 5Where to Go from Here ................................................................................... 6

Part I: Getting Started .................................................. 7

Chapter 1: Japanese in a Nutshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Discovering Basic Japanese Sounds and Script .......................................... 9Getting a Grip on Basic Grammar ................................................................ 10Easing into Common Expressions ............................................................... 10Counting on Numbers ................................................................................... 11Speaking Japanese around the House ........................................................ 12Using Japanese in Social Scenarios ............................................................. 12

Making small talk ................................................................................. 12Asking for directions ........................................................................... 13Eating out and buying food................................................................. 13Going shopping .................................................................................... 13Exploring entertainment opportunities ............................................ 13Doing business and communicating.................................................. 14Enjoying sports, hobbies, recreation, and more ............................. 14

Tackling Travel-Related Topics ................................................................... 15Preparing for a trip .............................................................................. 15Making sense of money ....................................................................... 15Getting around with local transportation ......................................... 15Securing a place to stay ...................................................................... 16Taking action during emergencies .................................................... 16

Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition xiiChapter 2: Checking Out the Japanese Sounds and Scripts . . . . . . . .17

Pronouncing Basic Japanese Sounds .......................................................... 17Vowels ................................................................................................... 17Consonants ........................................................................................... 19

Sounding Fluent ............................................................................................. 20Don’t stress ........................................................................................... 21Watch out for pitch and intonation ................................................... 21Get in rhythm ....................................................................................... 22Keep your speed up ............................................................................. 23

Introducing the Japanese Scripts ................................................................ 23Kana ....................................................................................................... 23Kanji ....................................................................................................... 27

Chapter 3: Warming Up with Japanese Grammar Basics . . . . . . . . . .33Using Appropriate Speech Styles ................................................................ 33Forming Sentences ........................................................................................ 34

Ordering the words correctly ............................................................ 34Marking nouns with particles ............................................................. 35Telling the topic ................................................................................... 38Dropping understood words .............................................................. 39

Asking Questions ........................................................................................... 39Yes/no questions ................................................................................. 40Content questions ................................................................................ 40

Getting a Handle on Pronouns ..................................................................... 42Demonstrative pronouns .................................................................... 42Personal pronouns .............................................................................. 44

Working with Verbs ....................................................................................... 45Understanding basic verb forms ....................................................... 45Doing the conjugation thing ............................................................... 47Speaking politely with –masu ............................................................. 50

Introducing the Verb Desu, to Be ................................................................ 51Describing People and Things with Adjectives ......................................... 53Using Adverbs to Describe Your Actions ................................................... 56

Creating adverbs from adjectives ...................................................... 56Perusing pure adverbs ........................................................................ 56Turning to sentence-like adverbs ...................................................... 57

Expressing Moods and Attitudes ................................................................. 57

Chapter 4: Starting with Simple Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61Beginning (And Ending) Conversations ...................................................... 61

Addressing friends and strangers ...................................................... 61Greeting all day long ............................................................................ 64Saying goodbye .................................................................................... 65

Making Introductions .................................................................................... 66Introducing yourself ............................................................................ 67Introducing your friends ..................................................................... 67Asking people their names ................................................................. 69Being polite with o- .............................................................................. 69

xiii Table of Contents

Finding Out About Your New Friend ........................................................... 70Asking people where they’re from..................................................... 70Talking about your language skills .................................................... 72

Expressing Gratitude and Regret ................................................................. 74Showing gratitude ................................................................................ 74Apologizing ........................................................................................... 74

Speaking about Speaking: The Verb Hanasu .............................................. 75

Chapter 5: Getting Your Numbers, Times, and Measurements Straight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

Ichi, Ni, San: Counting in Japanese .............................................................. 77Numbers from 1 to 10 .......................................................................... 77Numbers from 11 to 99 ........................................................................ 78Numbers from 100 to 9,999 ................................................................. 79Numbers from 10,000 to 99,999 .......................................................... 80Numbers over 100,000 ......................................................................... 81Expressing amount or quantity with counters ................................ 81Indicating ordinal numbers with -me ................................................ 83

Telling Time .................................................................................................... 84Noting hours and minutes .................................................................. 84Talking about time ............................................................................... 87

It’s a Date! Delving into the Calendar .......................................................... 88Talking about the days of the week ................................................... 88Naming the months and counting them up ...................................... 89Counting the days ................................................................................ 90Counting the weeks ............................................................................. 92Reeling off the years ............................................................................ 92Specifying dates and times ................................................................. 93

Familiarizing Yourself with the Metric System .......................................... 97

Chapter 6: Speaking Japanese at Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99Taking a Tour of Your Home ........................................................................ 99

The kitchen ......................................................................................... 100The dining room ................................................................................. 101The living room .................................................................................. 102The bedroom ...................................................................................... 102The bathroom..................................................................................... 103The laundry room .............................................................................. 104The storage room .............................................................................. 104

Home Is Where the Food Is ........................................................................ 107Getting cooking .................................................................................. 107Using two verbs at the table ............................................................. 107Considering proper table manners.................................................. 108Enjoying foods of all kinds ................................................................ 109Talking about foods you like and dislike ........................................ 111

Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition xivEngaging in Common Household Activities ............................................. 112

Keeping your home clean ................................................................. 112Performing a safety check ................................................................ 113

Talking about What You Do Regularly ...................................................... 113

Part II: Japanese in Action ........................................ 117

Chapter 7: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . .119Initiating Small Talk ..................................................................................... 119

Breaking the ice with “excuse me” .................................................. 119Talking about where you’re going ................................................... 120Discussing the weather ..................................................................... 121

Chatting About Your Life ............................................................................ 122Your job .............................................................................................. 122Your family ......................................................................................... 123

Specifying Where You Live with the Verb Sumu ..................................... 125Existing and Possessing: The Verbs Iru and Aru ..................................... 126Giving Out Your Contact Information ....................................................... 129

Chapter 8: Asking for Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131Figuring Out Where Places Are Located ................................................... 131

Asking “where” questions ................................................................. 131Getting basic location/position answers ........................................ 132Pinpointing an exact location ........................................................... 136

Finding Your Way to Your Destination ..................................................... 139Requesting travel instructions ......................................................... 139Referring to landmarks...................................................................... 140Providing actions with directions.................................................... 141Making directions flow ...................................................................... 143

Chapter 9: Dining Out and Going to the Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147Eating Out at Fast-Food and Sit-Down Restaurants ................................. 147

Ordering fast food .............................................................................. 148Making a reservation ......................................................................... 150Ordering in a restaurant ................................................................... 154Chatting with the waiter or waitress ............................................... 158Paying for your meal ......................................................................... 158

Going Grocery Shopping ............................................................................. 159Going to a butcher ............................................................................. 159Purchasing fresh fish ......................................................................... 160Buying vegetables and fruit .............................................................. 161

Chapter 10: Shopping Made Easy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163Naming Shops and Stores ........................................................................... 163Telling a Salesperson What You’re Looking For ...................................... 164

xv Table of Contents

Exploring the Variety of a Department Store ........................................... 166Going Clothes Shopping ............................................................................. 167

Considering the clothing and accessories you need..................... 167Examining the color ........................................................................... 168Trying something on ......................................................................... 169Talking about sizing ........................................................................... 170

Deciding What You Want to Buy ............................................................... 173Using demonstrative adjectives ....................................................... 173Comparing two items ........................................................................ 175Comparing three or more items....................................................... 176

You Gotta Pay to Play: Buying Your Merchandise .................................. 178Identifying prices ............................................................................... 178Stating that you want to buy something ......................................... 179Paying for your purchase.................................................................. 179

Chapter 11: Going Out on the Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183Checking Out Entertaining Activities ........................................................ 183

Getting cultured at museums and galleries .................................... 183Heading to the theater ...................................................................... 184Drinking and dancing at bars and clubs ......................................... 186Singing at a karaoke box ................................................................... 188

Talking about Entertainment ..................................................................... 190Getting Your Friends to Go Out with You ................................................ 191

Making a suggestion with “Why don’t we?” .................................... 191Saying “Let’s go” and “Shall we go?” ............................................... 192

Inviting Friends Over and Asking Them to Bring Something ................. 194

Chapter 12: Taking Care of Business and Telecommunications . . . .199Embarking on the Great Job Hunt ............................................................. 199

Clarifying your duties ........................................................................ 199Discussing a job’s benefits................................................................ 201

Making Sense of Your Office Environment ............................................... 204Checking out the supplies ................................................................ 204Touring the rest of the building ....................................................... 205

Phoning Made Simple .................................................................................. 206Brushing up on phone-related vocab .............................................. 206Asking to speak with someone ......................................................... 207Calling your client .............................................................................. 209Leaving a message ............................................................................. 211

Catching Up on Computing Basics ............................................................ 215Familiarizing yourself with computer terms .................................. 215Sending e-mail .................................................................................... 216

Having Meetings in the Workplace ............................................................ 217

Chapter 13: Recreation and the Great Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219Using the Verb Suru (To Do) ...................................................................... 219Saying “I Can” ............................................................................................... 220

Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition xviDiscussing Your Hobbies ............................................................................ 222Exploring Nature .......................................................................................... 224

Taking in the landscape .................................................................... 224Changing with the seasons ............................................................... 224

Living the Sporting Life ............................................................................... 227Using Your Artistic Talent .......................................................................... 228Making Music with Instruments ................................................................ 229Playing Games .............................................................................................. 231

Part III: Japanese on the Go ...................................... 233

Chapter 14: Planning a Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235Picking the Place for Your Trip .................................................................. 235Dealing with Passports and Visas ............................................................. 238Getting Help from a Travel Agency ........................................................... 239Stating Your Opinions ................................................................................. 240Packing for Your Trip .................................................................................. 242

Chapter 15: Dealing with Money in a Foreign Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245Getting Money .............................................................................................. 245

Exchanging money ............................................................................. 246Opening a bank account ................................................................... 249Making withdrawals from your account ......................................... 250Using an ATM ..................................................................................... 251

Spending Money .......................................................................................... 252Ka-ching! Shelling out cash ............................................................... 252Charge! Paying with plastic .............................................................. 254

Chapter 16: Making Your Way Around: Planes, Trains, Taxis, and More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257

Getting On and Off with the Verbs Noru and Oriru ................................. 257Asking about the Best Method of Transportation ................................... 259Navigating the Airport ................................................................................ 260

Now boarding: Making it to the plane ............................................. 260Going through immigration .............................................................. 262Getting through customs .................................................................. 262Leaving the airport ............................................................................ 263

All Aboard: Hopping on a Train or Boat ................................................... 264Now entering the station: Riding the train ..................................... 264Setting sail: Cruising around by boat .............................................. 267

Conquering Public Transportation ........................................................... 267Riding a bus ........................................................................................ 268Taking the subway ............................................................................. 268Hailing a taxi ....................................................................................... 268

xvii Table of Contents

Driving Around ............................................................................................. 271Renting a car ....................................................................................... 271Deciphering road signs ..................................................................... 273

Chapter 17: Finding a Place to Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275Picking the Right Accommodations for Your Needs ............................... 275Narrowing Your Choice Further ................................................................ 277

Looking into room size and amenities ............................................ 277Comparing costs ................................................................................ 279Considering each possible scenario with nara .............................. 280

Making a Room Reservation ....................................................................... 281Checking In ................................................................................................... 282Keeping Track of What’s Yours during Your Stay ................................... 286

Using possessive pronouns .............................................................. 286Using “uchi” possessively ................................................................. 288

Checking Out ................................................................................................ 289

Chapter 18: Handling Emergencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291Asking (Or Shouting!) for Help ................................................................... 291Seeking Medical Attention .......................................................................... 293

Looking for a doctor .......................................................................... 293Going to a hospital ............................................................................. 294

Navigating a Doctor’s Visit ......................................................................... 295Referring to your body parts ............................................................ 296Complaining about your pain ........................................................... 297Describing your symptoms .............................................................. 298Receiving a diagnosis ........................................................................ 300Getting treatment ............................................................................... 301

Calling the Police ......................................................................................... 301Reporting an accident to the police ................................................ 302Reporting a crime .............................................................................. 305Reporting lost or stolen belongings ................................................ 306

Getting Legal Help ....................................................................................... 307

Part IV: The Part of Tens ........................................... 309

Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Pick Up Japanese Quickly . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311Use Digital Technologies ............................................................................ 311Cook or Eat Japanese Foods ...................................................................... 311Read Japanese Comic Books ...................................................................... 312Watch Japanese Anime, Films, and Sports ............................................... 312Do Karaoke ................................................................................................... 313Spend Time with Japanese ......................................................................... 313

Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition xviiiExchange Language Lessons ...................................................................... 313Get to Know a Monolingual Japanese ....................................................... 314Travel to Japan ............................................................................................ 314Be Positive, Curious, and Creative ............................................................ 314

Chapter 20: Ten Things Never to Say in Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .315“San” After Your Own Name ....................................................................... 315Your Boss’s or Teacher’s First Name ........................................................ 316“O-genki Desu Ka” to the Person You Saw Yesterday ............................. 316“Sayōnara” to Your Family ......................................................................... 316“Thank You” for a Compliment .................................................................. 316“My Mom Is Pretty” to Outsiders .............................................................. 317“Yes” Right After Being Offered Food ....................................................... 317“Anata” When Talking to Someone ........................................................... 318“Aishite Imasu” to Express Likes ............................................................... 318“Do You Want Coffee?” ............................................................................... 318

Chapter 21: Ten Favorite Japanese Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .319Yatta! ............................................................................................................. 319Hontō? ........................................................................................................... 320Sasuga! .......................................................................................................... 320Mochiron! ...................................................................................................... 320Ā, Yokatta. .................................................................................................... 321Zenzen. .......................................................................................................... 321Nani? .............................................................................................................. 321Dōshiyō? ....................................................................................................... 322Yappari. ......................................................................................................... 322Ā, Bikkurishita! ............................................................................................. 322

Chapter 22: Ten Phrases That Make You Sound Fluent in Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .323

Enryo Shinaide. ............................................................................................ 323Mottainai. ...................................................................................................... 323O-saki Ni. ....................................................................................................... 324Kanpai! .......................................................................................................... 324Ganbatte! ....................................................................................................... 325Shikata ga nai. .............................................................................................. 325Okage-sama De. ............................................................................................ 325Tsumaranai Mono Desu Ga. ....................................................................... 326Yoroshiku. .................................................................................................... 326Taihen Desu Ne. ........................................................................................... 326

xix Table of Contents

Part V: Appendixes ................................................... 327

Appendix A: Mini-Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .329Japanese-English Mini-Dictionary ...................................................... 329–338English-Japanese Mini-Dictionary ...................................................... 339–348

Appendix B: Verb Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .349Regular Japanese Verbs .............................................................................. 349Irregular Japanese Verbs ............................................................................ 355

Appendix C: On the CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .359Track Listing ................................................................................................. 359Customer Care ............................................................................................. 361

Appendix D: Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .363

Index ....................................................................... 365

Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition xx

Introduction

W e live in a wonderfully global and amazingly diverse society. Exchanging ideas, products, foods, and friendship across national

and cultural boundaries is the key to making our lives richer and more mean-ingful and peaceful. Besides, traveling abroad is a lot cheaper than it used to be. Grabbing your passport and setting off on an adventure is always fun, but it’s even more fun when you can communicate with people in a different country in their own language.

If Japanese is the language you want to learn, for whatever reason, Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition, can help. It provides instant results, plus some of the cultural background behind the language. Now, I’m not saying that you’ll be fluent overnight, but you will gain confidence, have fun, and continue to pick up more and more Japanese so that you can carry on a conversation with your Japanese-speaking co-worker, family member, friend, or neighbor.

About This BookJapanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition, can help you whether you want to get familiar with Japanese because you’re planning a trip to my island-nation homeland, because you deal with Japanese companies at work, or because your new neighbor is Japanese and you want to be able to say good morning to him or her. (Try ohayō gozaimasu [oh-hah-yohh goh-zah-ee-mah-soo].) I give you the most-important and most-used Japanese words and phrases on subjects as diverse as shopping, money, food, and sports in self-contained chapters and sections.

Simply turn to the topics that interest you the most, play the included audio examples, and start speaking! That’s right, you don’t have to go through this book in order. If I think you may want to know information that’s contained in a different chapter than the one you’re currently reading, I include a handy cross-reference so you can find the additional information when you’re ready for it.

2 Japanese For Dummies

Conventions Used in This BookI use a few conventions in this book to help your reading go smoothly:

✓ In many places throughout this book, Japanese terms appear in two forms: Japanese scripts (like what you would read if you were in Japan) and the Romanized forms of words (which appear in boldface so you can easily find them in the text). The official term for Romanized Japanese is rōmaji (rohh-mah-jee).

✓ Pronunciations in parentheses and meanings or English equivalents in another pair of parentheses follow the Japanese terms. Note that mean-ings and English equivalents appear in italics.

✓ Verb conjugations (lists that show you the basic forms of a verb) are given in tables in this order: the dictionary form, the negative (nai-) form, the stem form (or the form before the polite suffix -masu), and the te-form. You find Japanese scripts in the first column, rōmaji in the second column, and pronunciations in the third column. Here’s a sample conjugation of the verb taberu (tah-beh-roo) (to eat):

Japanese Script Rōmaji Pronunciation

食べる taberu tah-beh-roo

食べない tabenai tah-beh-nah-ee

食べ（ます） tabe(masu) tah-beh(-mah-soo)

食べて tabete tah-beh-teh

Keep in mind that Japanese verbs don’t conjugate like English verbs. You can’t find exact counterparts for English verb forms such as infini-tives, gerunds, and participles. In addition, you don’t conjugate Japanese verbs in terms of the person and number, so taberu can mean I eat, you eat, he eats, she eats, and they eat. This difference may take a little get-ting used to, but it should make your verb-learning life a little easier.

To help you remember the most important new words and see the lan-guage in context, this book includes some special elements to reinforce the Japanese terms you’re studying:

✓ Talkin’ the Talk dialogues: Hearing actual Japanese conversations is the best way to learn Japanese, which is why I include many dialogues under the “Talkin’ the Talk” heading in this book. These exchanges show you the Japanese words in rōmaji, their pronunciations, and the English translations so that you can see how the language is actually used. All

3 Introduction

Talkin’ the Talk dialogues are accompanied by audio recordings so that you can hear and pick up the natural intonation and rhythm that are essential in conversational interactions.

✓ Words to Know blackboards: Here’s where you find key words and phrases from the Talkin’ the Talk dialogues.

✓ Fun & Games activities: Located at the end of chapters, these amusing activities help reinforce the vocabulary you practice in each chapter. You can find the solutions to these activities in Appendix D.

This book also features compact yet convenient mini-dictionaries — both Japanese-English and English-Japanese — in Appendix A. They include only very basic vocabulary words, mainly content words such as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs. For your convenience, I mark the conjugation class of the verbs: u for u-verbs, ru for ru-verbs, and irr for irregular verbs. Slightly irregular u-verbs are specified as u (irr). In the English-Japanese mini-dictionary, I also designate verbs with (v.) because some English verbs also function as nouns. Last but certainly not least, I mark the type of adjectives: i for i-type adjectives and na for na-type adjectives. A few i-type adjectives with minor irregularities are specified as i (irr).

Speaking of language quirks, you should know that English and Japanese sometimes express the same concept in very different ways. And Japanese has many words and phrases that you can’t translate into English at all. In this book, I want you to focus on what is actually said (the content and intended meaning) rather than how it’s said. So instead of giving you a literal translation, I give you a nonliteral, natural English translation. For example, the phrase yoroshiku (yoh-roh-shee-koo) can be literally translated as appro-priately, but the phrase really means pleased to meet you if you say it when meeting someone new. This book gives the nonliteral, pleased-to-meet-you type translations (sometimes with the more literal translation for reference).

Your exploration of Japanese will also show you different ways of looking at the world of language because Japanese doesn’t contain the same type of grammar items as European languages do. For example, Japanese doesn’t have equivalents of English articles like a and the. Some verbs in English cor-respond to adjectives in Japanese. For example, the verb to want is best rep-resented by the Japanese adjective hoshii, so be ready to see some mismatch in the part-of-speech categories. And Japanese doesn’t have a singular/plural distinction, such as dog and dogs, either. The information about specificity and numbers are expressed in very different ways. Also, Japanese sometimes has linguistic systems that European languages don’t have. For example, Japanese speech styles clearly indicate degrees of respect or familiarity within conversational contexts.

4 Japanese For Dummies

What You’re Not to ReadAlthough I hope you read everything in this book, you certainly don’t have to read the sidebars (the gray-shaded boxes you see sprinkled throughout the book). They contain information that’s interesting but not essential if you just want to be able to speak Japanese.

Foolish AssumptionsTo write this book, I had to work off of some assumptions about you. I’m thinking that

✓ You don’t know much Japanese, except maybe for a few words like karate and sushi.

✓ You’re not planning on taking a language-proficiency test for Japanese next month, and you’re not planning on becoming a professional Japanese translator in the near future. You just want to be able to com-municate basic information in Japanese and get to know the Japanese language.

✓ You don’t have time to spend hours and hours memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules.

✓ You want to have fun in addition to learning Japanese.

How This Book Is OrganizedJapanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is divided into five parts. Each part has a specific focus or function. Here’s how they break down.

Part I: Getting StartedThis part provides you with essentials of the Japanese language. Chapter 1 gives you a taste of Japanese phrases so you get a feel for what you find throughout the book. Chapter 2 lays out the basics of the Japanese sounds and writing systems, and Chapter 3 compactly provides the essential ele-ments of Japanese grammar. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 offer Japanese words and phrases you can’t live without: daily-life expressions, numbers, and words and phrases you use in your household.

5 Introduction

Part II: Japanese in ActionThis part gets you going and engaged in actions. It provides Japanese words and phrases that you can use for meeting new people (Chapter 7); asking direc-tions (Chapter 8); doing your job (Chapter 12); and engaging in your favorite activities such as dining out (Chapter 9), shopping (Chapter 10), exploring the town (Chapter 11), and enjoying recreational activities (Chapter 13).

Part III: Japanese on the GoTime to forget about your daily routines and the activities you do in the com-fort of your own town and go on a trip! This part lets you plan a trip (Chapter 14), deal with money in a foreign land (Chapter 15), and choose the right transportation method (Chapter 16) and the right place to stay (Chapter 17). You also get tips and vocabulary on handling emergencies while you’re away (Chapter 18).

Part IV: The Part of TensThis part is the collection of simple phrases and facts that I want you to know and remember right away. Here you can find ten ways to pick up Japanese quickly (Chapter 19), ten things you should never say in front of Japanese folks (Chapter 20), ten favorite Japanese expressions (Chapter 21), and ten phrases that make you sound like a native Japanese-speaker (Chapter 22).

Part V: AppendixesThis part is home to helpful references such as a very convenient mini- dictionary (Appendix A), verb tables that show you the conjugation patterns of all types of regular verbs and most of the irregular verbs (Appendix B), a list of all the accompanying audio tracks (Appendix C), and the answers to the Fun & Games exercises at the end of the chapters (Appendix D).

Icons Used in This BookTo help you find certain types of information quickly, I’ve placed some icons throughout the book. Here are the six icons to keep an eye out for:

6 Japanese For Dummies

If you’re interested in information and advice about culture and travel, look for these icons. They draw your attention to interesting tidbits about Japan and Japanese culture.

If you understand grammar, you can create an infinite number of sentences, so I use this icon to point out discussions of grammar facts.

The audio recordings that come with this book give you the opportunity to listen to real Japanese speakers so that you can get a better understanding of what Japanese sounds like. This icon marks the spots where audio record-ings are available (for the basic sounds in Chapter 2 and all Talkin’ the Talk dialogues). You can find these audio tracks on the accompanying CD, or if you have a digital version of this book, you can access the tracks via the link in the Table of Contents.

To ensure that you don’t forget information important to the language, this icon serves as a reminder, just like a string tied around your finger.

This icon highlights suggestions that can make learning Japanese easier.

This icon can keep you from making embarrassing or really foolish mistakes.

Where to Go from HereYou can read as much or as little as you want of this book and the chapters in it. Decide what topic you’re interested in, consult the index or table of contents to find the proper section, and quickly discover what you need to know to speak about that topic in Japanese. Of course, if you’re looking to get a foundation in the basics, I recommend turning to Chapters 2 and 3 first. These chapters contain the fundamentals of Japanese pronunciation, writing systems, and grammar. Read them now and then refer to them later if you get hung up on how to read Japanese scripts or build sentences.

Well, what are you waiting for? Head for the chapter that interests you or listen to the included audio examples. And make sure to use your favorite Japanese phrases when you hang out with your friends or family. If you think your family probably won’t understand what you say, teach them Japanese. With a little dedication, you’ll be able to confidently answer Hai! (hah-ee!) (Yes!) when people ask Nihongo wa hanasemasu ka. (nee-hohn-goh wah hah-nah-seh-mah-soo kah.) (Can you speak Japanese?)

Part IGetting Started

In this part . . .

P art I welcomes you to the Japanese language. Here, I give you the basic facts on Japanese — what the

Japanese sounds sound like, what the Japanese scripts look like, and how to put Japanese words together appro-priately. Then I provide you with some Japanese words and phrases you simply can’t live without: daily-life expressions, numbers, and words and phrases used in your household. Jā, hajimemashō! (jahh, hah-jee-meh-mah-shohh!) (Let’s start!).